


say my name

by desdemona (LydiaOfNarnia)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Goofiness, Kageyama is a human disaster, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 08:00:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8789911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LydiaOfNarnia/pseuds/desdemona
Summary: It takes Hinata a little while to realize it, and once he does he has no clue how it wasn't obvious from the beginning.Kageyama doesn't know his name.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The result of a tumblr prompt in which Kageyama somehow never learned Hinata's name, and all the times he called him "dumbass" were because he just didn't know.
> 
> I ran with it.
> 
>  
> 
> Set during the first season, somewhere around the time Asahi and Noya rejoin.

Hinata's first clue that something isn't right comes from, of all people, Tsukishima.

It's yet another afternoon practice, and Hinata had done nothing but hound Kageyama for tosses. The setter has taken to avoiding him like the plague after the thirtieth toss, still hesitant to devote so much time working with Hinata. Even though he's proved himself a valuable player, he gets the feeling it will take more than that for Kageyama to open up.

Still, he's nothing if not persistent. (Also, Suga-san is working with the second years, so if he wants to practice spiking the tosses have to come from _somewhere_.)

"One more!" he begs, bouncing up and down in the face of Kageyama's glare. The other boy huffs, turning his back, and Hinata lets out a crow of dismay.

The racket he's been making must finally tread on Tsukishima's last nerve, because he casts a glower down at Hinata as he turns look at him. "Just give it a rest. Isn't it obvious he doesn't want anything to do with you?"

"That isn't true!" Hinata shoots back. "Kageyama's just being a grumpy jerk, but his head is pretty much a volleyball anyway. He won't be able to ignore me when he feels like tossing to someone again."

Tsukishima scoffs in that arrogant, holier-than-thou way he has, shaking his head. He turns his back on Hinata once more; but before he does, Hinata hears his parting remark. "I'll never understand how you put so much effort into working with him when he doesn't even know your name."

Before Hinata can say anything else, Tsukishima is walking away, leaving him standing baffled and bemused.

Kageyama... doesn't know his name? That's ridiculous! Everybody calls him by his name -- the captain, Suga-san, Tanaka-senpai, Yamaguchi and even Tsukishima, sometimes --

Come to think of it, he can't remember hearing Kageyama say his name.

He's _never_ heard Kageyama say his name.

It isn't like they don't _talk,_ but to Kageyama Hinata has always been "dumbass" or "idiot". Without fail, these few words come up anytime he has something to yell at his teammate about; but not once has he shouted at Hinata, or even spoken to him, using his real name.

Hinata suddenly feels like he's catching on to a joke long after everyone else, and it isn't funny.

"Hey, Kageyama!" he shouts out, raising his voice to be heard over the impact of balls bouncing on the gym floor. "What's my name?"

There is a pause -- a small one, but lasting a second too long. Hinata catches the glance Kageyama shoots him over his shoulder, wide eyed, laced with a twinge of panic.

"What the hell sort of question is that? Don't you know your own name, dumbass?" Kageyama spits, pace quickening as he walks away. He seems eager to put as much distance between himself and Hinata as possible. The boy in question simply stares after him with wide, incredulous eyes.

_Kageyama didn't say his name._

...

It becomes a game after that. It's morbid, but Hinata wants to see how long it will take before Kageyama -- the boy he spends four hours with a day for practice, with whom he's even started eating lunch during the school day -- figures out his name.

He just... doesn't get how it's possible. He understands that Kageyama is socially awkward, and doesn't hold much interest in people in general. Still, there is a limit to how oblivious a person can be. Kageyama hasn't just surpassed the boundaries of acceptable ignorance -- he's vaulted it like a hurdle, and is now soaring through the air without any solid place to land.

Hinata decides that he's either going to nail the landing and figure out his name eventually, or he's going to crash and burn. Either way, he wants to see how it ends.

Kageyama, for his part, doesn't seem bothered by not knowing Hinata's name. Responding to shouts of "dumbass" is starting to become second nature to Hinata now, and it's a little troubling.

He isn't sure at what point the rest of the team catches on, but it's obvious that they're avoiding using his real name around Kageyama as well. When Tanaka slaps him on the back, it is with cheers of _"good job, kouhai!"_ Tsukishima takes up dubbing Hinata _"idiot"_ with unsurprising ease. Sugawara seems to take it a step farther; whenever Kageyama's around, he calls Hinata by whatever name pops into his head. So far, Hinata has learned to answer to Suga-san calling him _"Hisashi", "Tomiko", "Reiko",_ and _"Glenn"._

Whether this confuses Kageyama or not is anyone's guess. He just doesn't react, nor does he make any effort to call Hinata by his name.

The only thing that makes it remotely better is that Hinata isn't alone.

"Yeah, so is it just me," says Nishinoya on the second day of his reintroduction into the club, frowning intently at Kageyama from across the court, "or does that guy have no clue what my name is?"

Hinata turns around, eyes wide in surprise. "Noya-senpai, you too?"

"You mean, he doesn't know your name?" Nishinoya blinks,'incredulous, as Hinata shakes his head.

"No way! Kageyama's such an idiot that he barely knows anything!"

Kageyama must hear that, because there is a loud shout from across the court, and Hinata narrowly avoids being nailed in the head by a rogue serve. Nishinoya receives it, sending it flying back across the court once again. He and Hinata exchange wide-eyed glances.

"Haven't you told him?" he asks. "He needs to know. You've gotta tell him, Shouyou."

"He's never asked me my name," Hinata replies, shrugging. "We're just gonna let him figure it out on his own."

Nishinoya sighs, shaking his head as if he cannot believe the ignorance of today's youth. Hinata wonders, for the first time, of this Name Debacle should bother him more than it actually does.

 _Nah,_ he decides. It isn't like it changes anything between him and Kageyama, anyway. Kageyama will know his name when he finally beats him on the court.

...

The first time Kageyama calls him by his name is at the end of the match against Seijoh, the one that sends Karasuno home from the Interhigh with aching limbs and lumps in their throats that can not be swallowed back down.

Hinata is just about to step onto the bus when he feels a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back.

"Hey," says Kageyama. His face is stoic, but his eyes glitter with tears unshed. He looks better than Hinata, at least -- he's been sobbing for a while, and it shows in the blotchiness of his face. Though he has to look like a mess right now, Kageyama meets his gaze anyway. "We'll do better next time."

It takes him a moment to work up the energy, but Hinata snorts. "You say that like you need to confirm it, stupid Kageyama. Of course we will!"

"I'm not! I just --" Kageyama cuts himself off, hesitating. And then, as if the words on his tongue burn him, he spits out one thing Hinata never thought he would hear his teammate say. 

"You played well today, Hinata."

Kageyama brushes past him and on to the bus before Hinata can do any more than gawk. Hinata is once more left staring after him, wide eyed and in awe, but for an entirely different reason.

 _Hinata,_ he echoes silently, _you played well._

He decides that he quite likes the way his name sounds in Kageyama's voice.


End file.
